Environment

Datto SIRIS

Datto ALTO

Datto NAS

Description

The self-service Device Migration feature allows you to transfer local backups, cloud backups, and device settings from one Datto appliance to another without the intervention of Datto Technical Support. When performing a device migration, both the source and destination device must be in a functional state and capable of completing all steps in the migration process.

Consider a device migration if you are replacing one Datto appliance with another, and you need to transfer the user settings and data from the old device to the new device. You can also perform a device migration to move individual protected machines or shares to a different Datto appliance to assist with load balancing.

During the Device Migration process, the migration wizard will perform the following tasks:

Prerequisites

Destination Device

If there are any protected machines or shares already on the destination device, both the source and destination device must be on the same offsite cloud server before migration. If the devices are not on the same offsite server, contact Datto Technical Support for assistance with moving your cloud data before proceeding with the migration.

Source and Destination Device

If the source device (the device you are migrating from) is a Datto SIRIS or Datto ALTO, the destination device cannot be a Datto NAS unless you are migrating only NAS shares. SIRIS or ALTO agent data is not manageable on a Datto NAS.

Both the source and destination devices must have a local administrator account, and the person performing the migration must have access to those accounts.

Both the Source and Destination devices must be running the latest Datto IRIS software. Ensure that both devices have installed any available updates before proceeding.

Data migrations cannot run while any restores are active on the source or destination appliance, including file restores and virtualizations.

Restores cannot migrate. You must remove all restores before initiating a device migration.

If your device migration involves the transfer of ownership of data or equipment from one Managed Services Provider to another, both parties must consent to the transfer. Contact your Sales Executive for guidance if there are any concerns or ambiguities.

Network

Both the source and destination devices must be on the same LAN or connected NIC-to-NIC, and they must be able to communicate with each other.

Warnings

If the source device has ownCloud (Datto Drive Local) data, do not use the Self-Service Device Migration tool. Contact Datto Technical Support for assistance with your migration.

If the source device has NAS shares, Datto recommends changing the hostname and IP address of the source device immediately before performing the migration to prevent users from continuing to write data to the source appliance during or after the migration. Make a note of the new IP address or hostname, and reboot the source device to apply the changes.

Legacy NAS shares cannot be migrated by the Device Migration wizard. You must migrate these shares manually. See the Legacy NAS shares section of this article for more information.

A device migration is extremely bandwidth-intensive and will require downtime for both the source and destination devices. Datto recommends scheduling a maintenance window during off-peak hours to ensure minimal service disruption.

Datto does not recommend interrupting a device migration once it has started. Interrupting a running migration may leave both the source and destination devices in an unusable state.

After a device migration, systems protected by the destination device may experience a differential merge to prevent large backups from being taken.

Legacy NAS Shares

Older NAS shares (those created on Datto appliances before mid-2016) use a different ZFS standard than contemporary shares, and cannot be migrated by the Device Migration wizard. You can identify legacy NAS shares by navigating to the source Datto appliance's Device Overview page and scrolling down to the Local Share Information section. Legacy NAS shares will show no 'Latest Snapshot,' 'Snapshot Storage,' or 'NAS Storage' values, as shown in Figure 1.

Procedure

FAQ

Q: How long will the migration process take?A: Generally, device migrations transfer at roughly 1 TB per day. Available network bandwidth can affect this rate.

Q: Can I migrate just some of the protected machines or shares on my source device to the destination device?A: Yes. The self-service device migration can be used to move some or all of the protected machines or shares on your source device.

Q: Are encrypted agents supported? Do I need to do anything special to prepare them for migration?A: Encrypted agents are supported. All pre-migration tasks for encrypted agents are automatically performed by the Device Migration wizard.